interviews and surveys
DESCRIPTION
TRANSCRIPT
Interviews and Surveys
Interviews
Steinar Kvale, Svend Brinkmann, InterViews: Learning the Craft of Qualitative Research Interviewing.
The Interview
Interviewer Interviewee
Interview
Interviews
Unstructured
Semi-structured
Structured
Interviews
Unstructured Interviews Researcher has a small set of self
prompts to investigate research question. One question can lead to a number of followup questions depending on the response. They tend to be more like conversations than interviews.
Interviews
Semi-Structured Interviews Some interview questions fully decided,
others might not be fixed, and the other of questions in not fixed. The researcher has leeway in asking followup questions.
Interviews
Structured Interviews Fixed and predetermined questions and
sequence of questions. No new questions added during interview, and questions given to interviewee by interview begins.
Kvale’s Seven Stages
1. Themazing2. Designing3. Interviewing4. Transcribing5. Analyzing6. Verifying7. Reporting
Kvale’s Seven Stages
1. Themazing
What is the theme of the interview?
Kvale’s Seven Stages
2. Designing
How will the intended knowledge be obtained?
Kvale’s Seven Stages
3. Interviewing
Conduct the interviews carefully
Kvale’s Seven Stages
4. Transcribing
Converting interview into written text
Kvale’s Seven Stages
5. Analyzing
Based on the appropriate type of investigation
Kvale’s Seven Stages
6. Verifying
Checking that validity, reliability, and generalizibility of the findings
Kvale’s Seven Stages
7. Reporting
Communicate findings in a scientific and ethical manner.
Interview Questions
Introductory Questions
Warm up questions Followup
Questions Listen for “Red Lights”
Probing Questions Unlimited scope
question Specifying
Questions Exact information
Direct Questions Introducing a new topic
Indirect Questions Projective questions
Structuring Questions
Transitioning to new topics
Interpreting Question
Clarifying questions Silences
Interviews
Establish a rapport Treat interviewees with respect Think about your appearance Think about body language Maintain firm eye contact Don’t Invade their space
Interviews
How are you going to record Tape recorder Pen and paper - veratim Video recorder
Analysing Text
Analysing Text
Faced with the lack of organisation of data and the sheer amount of rambling can be somewhat overwhelming
With the best will in the world about trying to avoid bias, when there is multiple interpretations of data, selecting the one that best matches your research question becomes very tempting.
Simple Tabulation
Subject Money Fame Power Social Fulfilment Other
1 15 6 4 0 1 38
2 5 3 6 5 4 27
3 1 0 3 12 21 46
…..
Total
Reasons for Choosing a career
Choosing categories
Use ones from the literature Blame someone else / comparison
Use categories connected with your research question
Derive categories from data
Deriving Categories
Verbatim Analysis Knowledge management <> Knowledge engineering <>
Knowledge representation <> Knowledge reasoning “Compatible with Windows” <> “Windows-Compatible”
Gist Analysis “Compatible with Windows” == “Windows-Compatible”
Superordinate Analysis Derive superclasses Windows-Compatible + Linux-Compatible => category of
“Compatibility”
How are you going to analyse
Colour Coding
Analysis of Interviews
Meaning Analysis
Meaning Coding Adding tags or keywords to text segments
that represent the main themes of the interviews
Meaning Condensation Summarising larger sentences into short,
simple sentences. Meaning Interpretation
Adding more details, background and context to specific parts of the interview
Language Analysis
Linguistical Analysis Looking at the linguistics and grammar
Conversation Analysis Treating the interview as a conversation
Narrative Analysis Treating the interview as a story
Discourse Analysis Try to evaluate the truth of the responses
Deconstruction Taking the interview apart and putting together again
Eclectic Analysis
Bricolage Using a collection of techniques as a
collage Theoretical Reading
Creating your own reading on the text
Interviews FAQ
What books should I read about interviews?
Anything and everything by Steinar Kvale
“Interpreting Qualitative Data” by David Silverman
“Research Design” by John Creswell
Do I need to record the interview?
Yes, definitely, you can use Pen-and-paper Audio recording Video recording
But whichever you use, you must do a verbatim recording of the interview, both questions and answers.
How do I think of questions for the interview?
There really should be two sources All questions need to come from the
research question of the experiment If you find literature with a sufficiently
similar research topic, you can use or adapt those questions
How many people should I interview?
15 ±10 people
is a good rule-of thumb
Are there situations where I shouldn’t use interviews?
Yes, loads of situations, e.g. electoral voting behaviour, or capturing a person’s attitudes and interactions with their environments.
When should I do the interviews?
Typically there are two times to do interviews; As part of the requirements gathering
process As part of the evaluation process
Are there software packages that can help me ??
Loads ATLAS.ti nVIVO MaxQDA NUD*IST HyperRESEARCH
But, do not underestimate the power of Excel, it’s a brilliant tool when used well
Further Tips
Decide on an order of questions that easily flows one to the next
Try to use language that is easy to understand and relevant to the interviewee
Avoid Leading questions Try to stop the interviewee using qualifiers Add a few control questions into the interview for
validation Avoid smalltalk during the interview LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN
Questionnaires
A.N. Oppenheim, Questionnaire Design
Questionnaire
Identify which organisation you work for, or are studying at.
Check your grammar, twice (Rule of Thumb – two proofreads gets rid of 95% of errors).
Surveys: Questionnaires Think clearly about questions (need to
constrain answers as much as possible)
Make sure results will answer your research question
Can use Internet for conducting surveys if need to cover wide geographic reach
Surveys: Questionnaires “This survey sets out to ...
Please note if you fill in this questionnaire, your answers will be treated in highly confidential way. Neither I, the Dublin Institute of Technology nor any other third part will identify your name, email address or any other personal details, nor will it be possible to identify you in any way in the report I will publish as part of my MSc dissertation. I would like to personally thank you for your time in taking part in this survey.”
Questionnaires
Open-ended Close-ended Combination of both
Questionnaires
Open-ended Close-ended
Questionnaires
Open-ended Slower to administer Harder to record responses Does not stifle response Answerer can raise new issues Answerer feels they can speak their mind What does a blank answer mean ????
Questionnaires
Close-ended Faster to administer Easier to record responses Answerer can only give predefined answers Answerer cannot raise new issues Answerer feels constrained More likely to answer all questions (box tick)
Questionnaires
Self-administered
Interviewer administered
Questionnaires
Questionnaires
Keep questions short and simple Avoid questions with “not” Avoid questions with bias Avoid sensitive questions (ask indirectly) Do not ask compound questions, just ask
one question at a time e.g. "Do you know what services are available to
you and how to find out?"
Questionnaires
Likert scales Poor, Weak, O.K., Good, Excellent Very Low, Low, O.K., High, Very High 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Thank them
"Thank you for taking the time to participate in this survey"
Incentives
Survey research suggests that there is a chance that offering an incentive may add bias to a survey
e.g. Singer, E., Bossarte, R., 2006, “Incentives for Survey Participation: When Are They “Coercive”?, American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Volume 31, Issue 5, Pages 411-418
Other Useful Approaches
Focus groups
Take time to arrange, so prepare in advance (use an intermediary to help you if you can)
Who will be in your focus group? (e.g. age, gender)
Size of focus group (8-10 is typical) Consider whether or not to have separate
focus groups for different ages or genders (e.g. discussing sex and sexuality)
Site visits and observation
Site visits involve visiting an organization, community project etc
Consider using a guide Observation is when you visit a location and
observe what is going on, drawing your own conclusions
Both facilitate making your research more relevant and concrete
Case studies
Method of capturing and presenting concrete details of real or fictional situations in a structured way
Good for comparative analysis
Participatory research
Allows participation of community being researched in research process (e.g. developing research question; choosing methodology; analysing results)
Good way to ensure research does not simply reinforce prejudices and presumptions of researcher
Good for raising awareness in community and developing appropriate action plans